VietNamNet Bridge – Luxurious goods bearing well-known brands have been
available at many high end shops or shopping malls in Vietnam. However, only a
few of them sell genuine products.

The most shocking news of the last week was the discovery that the Gucci –
Milano shop system sold counterfeit goods. The products on sale were introduced
as made in Italia, but in fact, they were made in China.

On December 2, competent agencies in HCM City found at the ground floor of
Sheraton Hotel at No. 88 Dong Khoi Street in HCM City a lot of boxes of clothes,
footwear and belts bearing Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana brands – the Italian famous
brands.

The invoices showed that the exporter was a Chinese company based in Guang Dong.
The import declaration paper showed that the “branded” imports were valued at
just tens of thousands of dong for each. The importer reportedly was imposed 21
million dong in tax for the consignment.

On December 7, in Hanoi, competent agencies released the decision to seal off
the shop at No. 63 Ly Thai To Street in Hoan Kiem district in Hanoi to check the
origin of the goods.

Only 10 companies sell genuine branded goods in Vietnam

The demand for branded goods has been increasing rapidly in Vietnam, which has
led to the establishment of a lot of shops introducing themselves as the
authorized distributors in Vietnam. However, in fact, the products are just the
ones that bear famous brands, not genuine branded products.

Analysts have estimated that only about 10 businesses have been granted
commercial licenses to distribute the products of 100 well-known jewelry,
fashion and cosmetics brands in the world.

Meanwhile, the other products introduced as “branded goods” have been
penetrating Vietnam through different ways by businessmen with trifling skills.

Most of the enterprises distributing branded goods in Vietnam have been
operating under the mode of limited trade, service and import-export companies.
In general, the companies have both the functions of distribution and import,
because they have to place orders in advance for every season, control the goods
and take responsibility for the post-sale services.

Of the distributors, Milano is the only one registered as a business household.
This means that it only has the function of retailing, while the import and
transportation must be carried out via other companies.

Especially, the household pays fixed tax on its income and personal income tax.
The inflows

Genuine branded goods have been imported to Vietnam by authorized distributors,
who can import themselves or authorize other companies to import the products
they order.

There is another way for branded goods to enter Vietnam – through the
enterprises specializing in collecting sale-off products. The products of this
kind always have official documents to show their origin.

Nguyen Thi Huyen, Director of Anh Kim Company, has noted that Vietnamese
consumers favor sale-off products because they are cheap. Meanwhile, they can be
sure that the products are genuine, because the company can show relating
documents to prove their origins.

In general, it is very difficult to differentiate genuine and fake goods
available at the fashion shops on streets. A shop owner said that the fake goods
made in China are nearly exactly the same as genuine products. Therefore, a lot
of businessmen have been selling fake goods at high prices to make profit.